More cumbersome than a nicotine patch: The Smoker by Gene A. Felice II.

Social Commentary
The Smoker (www.novinicity.com/circuits, Gene A. Felice II, USA) is an interactive, robotic sculpture that simulates the lungs during the process of smoking. This is stressed by the sound of the author's own breathing and coughing, which can be heard as a pump in the sculpture breathes in and out. The speed of the breathing matches the speed of the pump, which is controlled by the viewer's interaction with another dial on the control box. While viewing steel factories with their smokestacks puffing out damaging byproducts, Felice conceived this sculpture. He combined this point of inspiration with the ongoing research he is conducting with interactive sculptures and their ability to create random byproducts through user interaction. Another goal of this piece, which was for him to quit smoking, has not worked out so well!

Case Study 5510/Case Study 5510-B (Tammy Knipp, USA) is a video-kinetic installation that captures people's facial expressions as they experience the simulation of a beheading machine. The installation consists of two 8-feet high guillotines mounted on a platform. Two people participate in an experiment where they lay down, face up, to view a wooden block actually dropping. The performance begins with a video image displayed on a monitor showing a rope unwinding -- virtually appearing to unwind. The 3D motion of a spinning wheel enhances the realism and builds a degree of anticipation. One and a half seconds after the video image of the rope unwinds the wooden blocks drop. Synchronized with the fall a concealed air compressor forces air around the neck of each participant. The participants' facial expressions are depicted live on two monitors mounted on a wall in a remote location of the gallery. The installation is described as "offering multiple perspectives and dialogues in the historical context of guillotines, control and technology as executor, monetary value [the guillotine is coin-activated] and entertainment at the expense of another's vulnerability." Maybe I missed something, but I wasn't intrigued or impressed by the technology and creativity of this convoluted installation. It didn't give me any historical perspective. The "unique language" was the universal, primary language of fear. As for the viewer's entertainment at the expense of another's vulnerability, the subjects themselves went for the thrill. I was much more impressed by the sharp simplicity of another work of art located next to Case Study 5510/Case Study 5510-B and dealing with the same topic.

Participants experience the guillotine in Tammy Knipp's Case Study 5510/Case Study 5510-B.